Shade Cover For Summer & Insulation Blanket For Winter

I have had my one piece fiberglass UV gelcoated greenhouse for a month now and am working on getting a shade cloth to throw over the outside for the summer.

I am new at shadecloth shopping and notice that there are options, such as % of shading - ranging from 30% to 70% shade. Also with the material there is the regular dark stuff and a silver Alluminette material that is said to deflect the heat. This appears to be more durable, at least in the pictures. Anyone out there with shadecloth experience, I would appreciate comments & opinions on what to get & where to get it.

I would like to keep some things in there all summer, if possible. At least on the lower shelves and maybe a few things planted right in the ground under the benches. I'm an hour inland from the Oregon coast, so it's not desert type hot in the summer. We do have quite a few days in the 80's & 90's and nights usually cool down to the 50's. I do have two roof vents with auto openers and a manual open back window and front door. Even with everything open, the inside temperature on sunny days is already is about 20 degrees hotter than outside. That is now, with no shade covering on it.

Thinking ahead for the next winter, I'm wondering if there is an insulating blanket type material that I could get to throw over to hold in some heat in the winter. Any ideas on that?

For winter, consider a solar pool cover: (http://www.solarcovers.com/ and other sources) but get clear, not blue.

For shade cloth, most go with 50%, still plenty of light for sun loving plants. Maybe more if you have orchids or something like that. Aluminet is what I use. I have it inside rather than outside due to the high winds in my location. The reflective properties diffuse the light a little bit and make it better for use inside the GH. It is more expensive.

I got mine from Hummert but there are lots of places to get it.

Stressbaby, Thanks for your input, your ideas are good ones.

I did more reading and checked a greenhouse thread over at Gardenweb last night. All advice seems to point to either the silver or white shade cloth for not absorbing heat. So I went to the Greenhouse Megastore Webpage and they do have white availible. I went ahead and ordered the white 50% shade with the finished grommets in the edge. I am going to pound in rebar stakes on an angle to tie it down to the ground with.

The other general consensus I have heard is that a mister makes a big difference in cooling. Mine is a small greenhouse and I don't have any plumbing in there, so I am thinking of getting one of those squiggley free standing patio misters that you see in the summer commonly at the box stores. They are for misting people on their hot patios. I believe they are fairly inexpensive and I don't see why they wouldn't cool down plants as well. I could run a hose in there with an inline valve shut off. this way I could turn it on during the hot days & off in the evening.

I do have one electric outlet in there and a small fan plugged into it, along with a light.
I'm hoping with this set up that I can keep using the greenhouse all summer. It's my first season with it, so I'll see how it goes...

I'll check into that pool cover for winter. Maybe there is some way I could throw one over the top and strap it down with ropes. I'll have to work more on that idea.

Creekside, look at this thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/959872/ from the greenhouse forum using bubble wrap inside the GH, up in Canada.

Creekside, do you also have an exhaust fan? Misting will help, but you'll need to remove the hot air from inside the greenhouse. (do some research on evaporative cooling)

And, I wouldn't run the mister constantly, all day long. You'll find yourself running into a few other problems, that way.

It's MUCH harder to cool a greenhouse, than to heat one. =)

Cathy, Thanks for that link. Joannabanana's greenhouse looks toasty warm with that lining. I noticed she also threw some actual blankets, like the blankets on our bed, up on the roof on a cold night. I might try some bubble wrap and the blankets if we ever get down in the low 20's. We usually have a few days each winter down close to 20. Mostly 30's and higher.

Eggs Zachtly, I may have to get a bigger fan. So far I just have the quiet little clip on style. I don't really have any wood framing in my walls or window to mount a real exhaust fan, but I could at least do a big free standing box fan. Here's another picture from the inside:

LOL - kitty sure likes it in there!

I don't know what your budget will allow, but I've been using one of those kind of high-powered fans that you might find at a Big Box or Sam's/ Costco. They're about the same size as regular fans, but the output is greater and they probably run about 60 bucks. My friend is using a box fan and I think she's wasting electriciy, for as much as it moves air in her GH.

If you put a misting unit in there, make sure that the fan you use is rated for high-humidity areas. =)

Hi Pagancat, That Kitty is Jenny Mae, she's my gardening helper. Her boyfriend is Forrest Gump, he's not in the picture, camera shy I guess...

Is the kind of fan you use the round one on a stand that Oscilates? Or is it a new age tall rectangular style that also oscilates?

I was thinking I'd keep the fan at one end and the mister towards the other end and have the fan blowing against the mist. My greenhouse is 8 ft wide and 15 feet long. I'd get a real low flow mister, so I think I can keep it far enough away that it wouldn't project right onto the fan.

Here's the little clip on fan that I have in there now. The dog looking in through the door is Cisco, my Australian Shepherd. He helps too, but is more mischievious and chews up the pots ;)

Pretty girll - I have a boy that resembles Jenny closely.

I'm not sure that your mist system is going to work for you ... you are kind of working against yourself by blowing the mist back out. To give you an idea, Gh suppliers sell fans that actually have their own misters. Another way you could do it is to have the fan blow over water in a pan or some other kind of container.

Here's something like the fan I use: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/181-7336311-8738828?ASIN=B000F6VVI4&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000F6VVI4|FlowPro_8"_High_Velocity_Floor_Fan&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000F6VVI4&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Pagancat, Thanks for your great ideas. I went to the link and now I know what style of fan you are talking about. I'll start looking for one like that.

Good idea also about having the fan blow over a container of water, I'll try that first before I get a mister. Between the white 50% shade cloth, and the high velocity fan blowing over a container of water, that might be all I need to regulate my temperature in there. I'll sure give it a try.

Right now we are having a cool spell over here on the west coast. 60's during the day and 40's at night. With the cloud cover and cool temp. the environment is just perfect in the greenhouse. It's warmer than outside and a little muggy. Just how the plants like it. I can see them making progress everyday. I know this won't last much longer and the sun will be beaming through soon. Hopefully my shade cloth will get here by the time I need it.

I'm getting antsy to try more fringe tropical plants. I just ordered two little starter Bananas. Supposed to be the varieties that you can eat the fruit. They take a really long season to mature their fruit and stop growing at temperatures below the mid 50's. I have a feeling they are going to end up in my house next winter. We'll see....

Glad to help!

Keep in mind, too, what Eggs was saying above - you'll still need a place for the air to go out, be it window, open door or whatever, and preferably two.

Ahh, you're a tropical lover. I admire you guys, then go back to my boring stuff, lol!

I have a little experience with knitted shade cloth. First of all I live in So. Cal. zone 9b where the summer temps can sometimes reach 106F. I thought long and hard as to what % I'd need for the summer and decided on 40%. In hindsight I think it would have been better to use 60% due to the fact that with 40% the inside temp will reach 110F when it is 85F outside and this is with the door and both vents open.
In side my g/h I have fragile seedlings and the higher temps are OK now but when the outside temp hits into the 100s i'll be forced to move many of my plants to the outside.

JM, Thanks for your comments. I have my shade cloth now. It's white 50% shade with the finished grommets on the edges. I pounded in some rebar stakes with a curved hook on the top of each one along the sides of the greenhouse and I roped the shade cloth loosely to the stakes. I say loosely because this way my automatic vents can still open and close under the shade cloth. I also got a portable Stanley pivoting high velocity fan, that I can move around and tilt the output grill to different angles.

The combination of the shade cloth and fan has made a big difference in regulating the temperature in there. I have planted some vegetables right in the ground under the benches, and hope to keep them growing in there all summer. Every morning I spray all the plants and hose down the brick walkway. So far the plants all seem to love it in there. Of course the hottest part of the summer is yet to come, so I'll have to wait until the heatwaves hit and see if I can still say I'm growing vegetables in there.

My goal is to use it as an all season greenhouse.

Here is a picture of my fan. It has several speeds, several angles and even an outlet on the side. I got it at Amazon.com. $49. including the shipping. I am quite happy with the fan.

Oh good, glad it's working for you.